Eating, snacking and lip smacking

Ok, as most of you know I'm not much of a foodie - you may have heard me talk of my human kibble ideas?
Be that as it may, one of the fun things about going somewhere different, is eating new stuff. So I thought I'd tell you about some of the fun places my taste buds have been.

Some old ones from the 1800's
- the long things in the foreground are the straws

Maté: This is THE drink of Argentina. This stuff is like crack and almost everyone is addicted (before you scoff, have you had your coffee/tea/coke today??) I had to try it!! Nina, my lovely Couch Surfing hostess with the most-est, was having some on my first morning (when we went to the markets) - How exciting!! There's a whole ritual on how to make it too, perhaps not as elaborate as the Japanese tea ceremony, but it's there none the less. The maté has to be done just so or else you risk scalding the leaves if you put water that is too hot.You have to put only a little water in first so that the leaves expand slowly...etc, etc I can't even begin to pretend that I got all the tiny nuances. It's a drink to be shared amongst family and friends so you pass the cup around. There's a metal (best if it's silver or plated silver) straw that has a flat round bottom to strain the leaves as you sip.

The ones you see here are made from pumpkin

The containers are traditionally made from pumpkin, wood, metal, or horn (Nina says the pumpkin ones are the best for retaining flavour). Each time you get a new one it has to be cured (well, not the metal ones) again with a very specific process. Nina was in the process of changing over to a new container and was telling me that it's hard to let the old ones go because they have that taste that you enjoy - the taste patina if you will. I know, you're all thinking, get on with it woman! What the hell does it taste like??? Did you know that Ernesto (Che) Guevara was also addicted to maté (he was Argentinian after all) and his revolutionary buddies would get it to him as often as they could?
 It tastes a little like smoked green tea - an acquired taste I'm sure, but one that wouldn't be that hard to acquire...unlike yak butter tea (which doesn't taste like tea at all). You can buy it in tea bags too, but I think that you miss out on the whole ritual thing, which seems a pity.

Dulce de leche - This is like caramel, but from a different galaxy. Caramel that has won the gold medal in caramel-ness since forever. Caramel that has multiple doctorates in deliciousness. Caramel that has reached enlightenment in it´s creamy magnificence. You put it on bread and butter in the morning and your day is bound to be a great one...sadly, it is your hips´ worst enemy :(


Walking with a bung foot sure takes it out of a gal....this is where snacks come in. 

This looked quite tasty in the kiosko - there's chocolate involved...what could go wrong?

This particular biscuit (??) was fun to bite into because I wasn´t sure what I was in for!
So, have you ever had a nice dark chocolate...mmmm yeah, you have. Ok, now add a squishy creamy chocolaty centre...oooo so good!
Now add a couple of rice crackers.

Ok sounds totally weird, I know, and that first bite was, well, curious. But it was quite delightful in the end and I wish I had gotten two!

And speaking of chocolate...On Monday night Nina and I went to a nice restaurant to have a nice piece of meat (a special post on meat coming soon) - Argentina is the place for a nice steak after all! We each had a perfectly cooked piece of meat, a salad, and kick ass Malbec (Uxmal, for those aficionados) to wash it down. Well, I have to say that the dessert is what captured my heart that evening - although the waiter was quite cute...*ahem* Apparently, this delight is a common dessert made at home and is seldom seen on menus because it is considered so banal. If I may say, in common parlance, OMG! The heavenly explosion of deliciousness! It is a layer cake with fine layers of a light chocolate cake, layered with dulce de leche (see above), and cream cheese. Repeat for about 8-10 layers. Ok, admittedly the cream cheese punished me the next day, but it was SO worth it! The name of this wonderful piece of heaven? Chocotorta.

No, I don't only eat sweet things...

Last night I got this delightful salsa to go with my bread instead of butter. It was standard salsa fare, made with tomatoes, onions, garlic, herbs (can´t tell you which ones - the waiter wouldn't tell me....or I just didn't understand him...) the interesting yum factor was the quinoa - simple, but wonderfully tasty!

Locro was the main course to this meal. It is a local soup made with meat, white beans, pumpkin, potatoes, and sausage. Holy stick to your ribs, batman! It was a bit chilly up here in the mountains last night so it was perfect - but I couldn't finish it even though it looked like a small portion. It was nicely seasoned and had a little kick to it.

Stay tuned...there´s heaps more to try!